Once More a Stranger
by Casa Circe
Summary: Valentine's Day One-shot. Small gestures can go a long way. Ruby comes to understand a little more about the nature of Viktor's loneliness, and she is determined to make sure that he doesn't suffer any more. Frankenwolf.


Once More a Stranger

_**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters in this story. They, on the other hand, own me.**_

_**Note: Happy Valentine's Day!**_

_**My first Frankenwolf fan fic! Hooray! Just a short one mostly from Ruby's point of view and more reflective than anything. A bit cheesy but given the occasion, I think I have an excuse.**_

_**But hopefully still a worthwhile read and this may be the first of (maybe) many. Enjoy.**_

The doctor sighed as he gulped down his latest cup of coffee.

"Long day?" Ruby asked with an understanding smile.

"Yeah," he answered. And before he could say anything else, his pager started buzzing. He sighed again.

"And apparently, it's not over yet," he added, as he stood up and started to pay his bill.

"You need to go back again?" Ruby asked in concern, "At this hour?"

"Well, unfortunately, emergencies don't stick to regular business hours," he said with a wry smile.

"I know," Ruby answered with a laugh, "but don't overwork yourself."

"I'll try," Viktor said, "but it's a bit tricky when you're one of the few real doctors in town."

"Well, you're the best doctor in town," she told him proudly, "and that's why we all trust you with our lives."

"Good to know," he said, not with any hint of arrogance but with genuine appreciation, "thanks again. Not just for the coffee and kind words. Just…thank you."

He threw her one of those warm, heartfelt smiles that she had never seen from Dr. Whale and that she loved to receive from Dr. Frankenstein. The more time passed, the starker the contrast became between him and his old Storybrooke persona. And Ruby was happy with the change. She really liked the "new" Doctor Whale. And when he wasn't brooding over his past, he was a real gentleman.

"You're welcome, as always," she told him cheerily, "well, good luck then. And…um…break a leg?"

"With my luck, someone probably has," he said, smiling at the wish that was usually reserved for theater performers.

But the sentiment did not go unappreciated. He put on his hat and coat and left the diner to begin another shift at the hospital.

"He really works too hard," Ruby thought as she began tidying up the counter and preparing to close the diner. As she went about her routine tasks, her thoughts strayed back to the doctor.

Ever since that night on the docks she had come to have a deeper understanding of and a greater sympathy for him. Monster to monster, after all. But she had not really given him much thought until that night. True, she had been surprised to learn from David that Whale was actually Frankenstein but there was not much more to it than that. They had all often wondered who he had been in their land and when they discovered that he wasn't from their land to begin with, their confusion made sense. But this only led to the question of why he had joined them in the curse but that was easily linked back to Regina. The queen had clearly made a lot of enemies in a number of realms. And she cast her curse on them all.

"Good night, Ruby, see you tomorrow!" some customers called out as they left the diner. The waitress waved at them.

Even after the curse was broken some things didn't change. She had learned that some friendships and relationships endured no matter what the circumstances. The sense of community and family they had always shared in their land was carried over to the land without magic. If anything, they all grew closer in adversity and due to proximity as well. After all, Storybrooke was not as vast as the Enchanted Forest where they all had lived miles away in various castles and cottages and villages and mountains. Here in town, everyone was more or less just around the corner. So even during their cursed state, they all had each other, and that's what made it bearable for nearly two decades.

Then, Ruby realized that this had not been the case for Viktor. He was from a different world. So when the curse broke, while everyone found themselves being reunited with friends and family, he was alone. Completely and helplessly alone. A stranger among strangers.

Ruby frowned at the thought. It must have been torture. Not only were his painful memories restored, he was also surrounded by a whole community of people who had nothing to do with him. His part in Regina's story earned him this punishment and now that it was over, he continued to be punished, cursed to be far away from his home and family.

"He got a really raw deal out of this one," Ruby thought, "no wonder he started drinking."

While the others had somehow maintained some characteristics of their Storybrooke counterparts, the doctor seemed to have let go of his carefree, cocky personality. Whale no longer existed.

Ruby thought that he was the better for it but she also understood that for the longest time, Whale had been his armor. All that overconfidence, that swagger, the flirtatiousness, all had been some way of covering up the brokenness he didn't even know he had. He had not been the most popular person in town but people had acknowledged that he was a part of it. But now that the curse was broken, he seemed a bit out of place.

As Whale he had been shallow and selfish, not completely so since he still often saved lives as a doctor. But work was only secondary to pleasure for Whale. For Frankenstein, work was everything.

Ruby preferred to see him throw himself into his work than into the sea but it was still not quite a healthy lifestyle. She was sure he knew that but he did it anyway.

"We all have our little coping mechanisms, I guess," she thought, "mine's running in the forest, his is working a twenty-four hour clinic."

But she was growing concerned about him because she now considered him her friend. And given the way the rest of the town continued to treat him, one of the few friends he had. Upon discovering his identity, many of the others kept their distance from him and some even feared him and what he could do. Others simply ignored him. From what she heard of his life in his world, he had not been the most social of people. He had been regarded as an eccentric and his own father had rejected him. It seemed wherever he was, he was doomed to be a stranger and an outcast. And no one deserved that.

And though he was hardly the type to ask for friendship or support, Ruby knew that he needed it more than anyone. He had been deprived of everything else, after all.

So she did her best to always make him feel welcome whenever he dropped by Granny's. At first she would make an effort to talk to him, ask about his day or something like that. But lately, it wasn't any effort at all. She found that she quite enjoyed his company and when given a chance, he was both kind and funny. She knew now that there had always been good in him in spite of his misguided actions. After all, at his core, he had always wanted to save life.

Ruby also noticed that her attempts at friendship seemed to have paid off since he had started coming to the diner more often, even for just a quick cup of coffee during his not so frequent breaks. She supposed that he liked talking to her too although Granny suspected something else and always regarded the two of them with a raised eyebrow when he was around. Nothing much escaped the woman's sharp senses.

"Honestly, Granny, you're too paranoid," she would tell the old lady once Viktor had gone.

"Call it what you want," Granny would reply, "but it never hurts to be careful."

"There's nothing to be afraid of," Ruby would argue.

"Perhaps nothing _scary_," Granny would say, "but there's definitely _something_ there."

But Ruby shrugged it off and paid no attention to her grandmother's other ideas. There was nothing wrong with doing a good turn for someone who needed it.

She finished cleaning and closing up and hung up her apron on the hook by the wall. The end of another long day. But she didn't feel tired yet.

_Certainly not as tired as someone else would feel at the end of the night_, she thought.

Then, in a burst of inspiration, she made some coffee and put it in a thermal jug. She got some biscuits and rustled up a few sandwiches and put them all in a small basket. She then covered it with a red checkered cloth and it was ready to go.

"Granny, I'm going out for a bit," she said even as she was putting her coat and hat and was already halfway out the door.

"Where are you going?" the old lady inquired.

"Just to see a friend at the hospital," Ruby replied quickly.

Granny raised an eyebrow and Ruby was prepared with an argument on how there was nothing wrong with bringing a few snacks to a busy man when the old lady simply sighed with resignation and nodded.

"Don't stay out too late," she said simply.

"I won't," Ruby said with a grin as she closed the door and began to make her way to the hospital with her basket of goodies.


End file.
